seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Genesis 49:“Zebulun will live by the seashore
and become a haven for ships;
his border will extend toward Sidon.
14 “Issachar is a rawboned[f] donkey
lying down among the sheep pens.[g]
15 When he sees how good is his resting place
and how pleasant is his land,
he will bend his shoulder to the burden
and submit to forced labor.
and become a haven for ships;
his border will extend toward Sidon.
14 “Issachar is a rawboned[f] donkey
lying down among the sheep pens.[g]
15 When he sees how good is his resting place
and how pleasant is his land,
he will bend his shoulder to the burden
and submit to forced labor.
f. Genesis 49:14 Or strong
g. Genesis 49:14 Or the campfires; or the saddlebags
According to one commentary, these two sons of Leah are not quite there. Zebulun's land almost but not quite reaches the shore. It's one of those water view deals instead of a water front. Likewise, Issachar's family seems to spend a lot of the time in slavery or indentured to the Canaanites.
Bible-commentaries.com clears it up a little. I should interject here that Joshua is going to divide the land after the exodus from Egypt.
We have two problems in connection with the above prophecy: the first one regarding the allotted territory, the second regarding Zebulun's role in sea faring and commerce. Of course, Joshua knew Jacob's prophecy; this is obvious from the allotments to the other tribes, but also, if the book of Genesis had not been written in Joshua's time the chain of Scriptural revelation would have been broken. Why then did Joshua not give Zebulun his full heritage in accordance with Jacob's words? Some incident must have taken place, or there must have been something in Zebulun's attitude that made Joshua believe that there would be no point in giving the tribe what was due to them.
Secondly, sea faring never became an important feature among any of the tribes of Israel. There may have been more going on than we are aware off. Deborah mentions ships in her song in Judges 5, but the reference is to Dan and maybe Asher. "Gilead stayed beyond the Jordan. And Dan, why did he linger by the ships? Asher remained on the coast and stayed in his coves."[ 4 ] King Salomon tried his hand on shipbuilding, but the actual sea faring seems to have been left to the people of Tyre. And this maritime trade was carried out on the Red Sea, not on the Mediterranean. In I Kings 22:48 we read: "Now Jehoshaphat built a fleet of trading ships to go to Ophir for gold, but they never set sail; they were wrecked at Ezion Geber."
The characteristics Jacob attributed to his son Issachar are not very flattering. He is compared to a donkey and a slave, mainly because he prefers an easy life to the trouble it would mean to be free. He, obviously, did not invent the words "Give me liberty or give me death." He wants life at all cost and an easy life at that. His is to be the attitude of the mule.
There are lessons to be learned from Jacob's prophecy about Issachar. It is not sinful to enjoy blessing. When God leads us into green pastures we better enjoy them. But we should draw a line between phlegmatic enjoyment and lethargic inactivity. If peace is obtained by paying off the enemy we will have short-term enjoyment for long-term suffering. We are in a situation of war, although God does give us time out for restoration. Ironically, it is about Issachar that we read in I Chr. 12:32 - "Men of Issachar, who understood the times and knew what Israel should do." It took them a few centuries, but they did learn something.
Secondly, sea faring never became an important feature among any of the tribes of Israel. There may have been more going on than we are aware off. Deborah mentions ships in her song in Judges 5, but the reference is to Dan and maybe Asher. "Gilead stayed beyond the Jordan. And Dan, why did he linger by the ships? Asher remained on the coast and stayed in his coves."[ 4 ] King Salomon tried his hand on shipbuilding, but the actual sea faring seems to have been left to the people of Tyre. And this maritime trade was carried out on the Red Sea, not on the Mediterranean. In I Kings 22:48 we read: "Now Jehoshaphat built a fleet of trading ships to go to Ophir for gold, but they never set sail; they were wrecked at Ezion Geber."
The characteristics Jacob attributed to his son Issachar are not very flattering. He is compared to a donkey and a slave, mainly because he prefers an easy life to the trouble it would mean to be free. He, obviously, did not invent the words "Give me liberty or give me death." He wants life at all cost and an easy life at that. His is to be the attitude of the mule.
There are lessons to be learned from Jacob's prophecy about Issachar. It is not sinful to enjoy blessing. When God leads us into green pastures we better enjoy them. But we should draw a line between phlegmatic enjoyment and lethargic inactivity. If peace is obtained by paying off the enemy we will have short-term enjoyment for long-term suffering. We are in a situation of war, although God does give us time out for restoration. Ironically, it is about Issachar that we read in I Chr. 12:32 - "Men of Issachar, who understood the times and knew what Israel should do." It took them a few centuries, but they did learn something.
So these two sons of Jacob [Israel] and Leah were not the pick of the litter. They were the not quites. Not quites are necessary tho.
